The firm
A national practice of international scope, run from Tallahassee.
Liang + Mooney represents corporations and individuals in federal administrative agency matters and the litigation that follows them. Any issue involving U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or a cross-border issue involving the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Maritime Commission, the Export Administration Regulations, Census or another export control agency, is handled, wherever it arises.
Where the firm came from
The practice began with Neil Mooney, who had spent 27 years in international logistics before he finished law school in 1998. He started on the cargo ramp at JFK in 1972 for British Airways, ran the Port of New York brokerage operation for Kuehne+Nagel at the World Trade Center from 1976, became a licensed Customs broker in 1978, managed Arthur J. Fritz & Co. in Miami, and in 1984 founded Flagship Trade Services, Inc., a Customs brokerage, NVOCC, freight forwarder, bonded warehouse and air cargo agency he ran for twelve years. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1999, opened The Mooney Law Firm that May, and was appearing at the U.S. Court of International Trade by 2000.
Shanshan "Shannon" Liang joined in 2013. She had come to the United States from China for a doctorate in materials science and engineering, then earned her law degree at Florida State with high honors. For a period the two practiced together at Pennington P.A. in Tallahassee, where Shannon was elected a shareholder in 2020 and where the firm won the Tabacos USA bond case at the Court of International Trade. In 2022 the practice became Liang + Mooney, PLLC. Shannon manages it; Neil is of counsel and consults on virtually every case.
How the firm works
There is no typical client. An importer facing a CF-28, a freight forwarder applying for an FMC license, a Chinese manufacturer appealing an antidumping determination, a traveler whose cash was seized at Miami International, and a Brazilian exporter with a contract dispute in Texas all have different needs, and the firm has handled each of them.
The firm looks for settlements that both sides can live with, and it exhausts the reasonable settlement avenues before recommending litigation. When litigation is the right answer, it is ready to file promptly in federal or state court. Both Shannon and Neil are admitted to the Court of International Trade in New York and to other federal courts, including courts of appeals, as well as all Florida courts.
Fees are discussed before any work begins. Some matters are hourly, some are flat fee, and currency seizure cases are taken on contingency.
Languages
Shannon is a native Mandarin speaker. Johnathan Foege handles Spanish and Italian. Lara Schmertmann Costa, a member of the Brazilian Bar based in Salvador, handles Portuguese. Neil studied international law in Madrid and speaks Spanish, and so does Melanie Harris, often the first person a new client reaches. See the 中文, español, italiano and português pages.
Ports of entry
The firm represents clients nationwide and worldwide, in every U.S. port of entry, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Honolulu, Laredo, New York and JFK, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Miami, Memphis, Minneapolis, Nashville, Newark, New Orleans, Nogales, Norfolk, Orlando, Philadelphia, Port Canaveral, Port Everglades, Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan, Tampa and Wilmington, with affiliated customs and international trade lawyers in the principal ports of the United States.
Talk to a customs lawyer
A call or an email costs nothing and gives an attorney the facts of your matter. We will tell you the fee, or the fee options, before any work begins. Some matters are hourly, some flat fee, and currency seizures are contingency.